Vandy upset falls just short

Determined Yellowjackets battle Ellsworth to wire

February 16, 2005|By Mike Dunn, Sports Editor

VANDERBILT - So close!

The Vanderbilt basketball team suffered its narrowest and most heartbreaking defeat of the season on the home floor Saturday afternoon. The determined, never-say-die Yellowjackets took heavily favored Ellsworth down to the final seconds in a Northern Lakes Conference makeup game before losing 55-52.

"We gave it everything we had to give," Vandy coach Tim O'Rourke said afterwards. "I was really proud of the kids for the way they fought back and stayed focused against a very good team. We gave them too many second shots and too many free throws, but I'm real happy with our effort and real excited about how we played in the last three minutes of the game. Even though we lost, we still did everything as a team that we were supposed to do in the last three minutes.

"You can see it coming. I still believe we're going to win a few before it's over."

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A clutch 3-pointer by sweet-shooting senior guard Mark Goff brought Vandy within a point, 52-51, with less than 30 seconds left and brought everyone on the Vanderbilt side of the bleachers to their feet in unison. A subsequent steal and free throw by rock solid junior forward Doug Heintz tied the score 52-52 as the Vandy fans collectively held their breath.

In the final seconds, though, it was the visiting Lancers who did what was necessary to win. Wesley Eggebrecht hit one of two free throws to put Ellsworth ahead by a point, 53-52, with 13 seconds left and then speedy guard Phil Peterson, who was a thorn in Vandy's side all day, made a crucial steal with 4 seconds remaining and capped the hard-fought victory with a pair of free throws.

In the end, Vandy (0-16) remained winless for the season while Ellsworth kept itself in the hunt for the conference title. There were a lot more positives than negatives for the Yellowjackets in this one, though. They were gunning for their first win and played with a focused intensity through four hard quarters. The guys in the distinctive yellow-and-black uniforms could have quit early in the third quarter when Ellsworth built an eight-point lead. Instead, they charged back to take a 43-42 lead when unshakable sophomore guard Trevor Cottrell, cool as a spring breeze, drained a 3-pointer at the 5:07 mark.

The Vandy players could have easily given in to discouragement when the visiting Lancers built a seven-point lead with less than a minute remaining in the game. Instead, the Yellowjackets charged back still again as the backcourt tandem of Cottrell and Goff dialed long distance on consecutive trips down the floor and sturdy sophomore center Sean Webber had a critical blocked shot at the other end. When Heintz made his steal and free throw to tie matters at 52 it appeared that Vanderbilt had all the momentum in its favor.

Ellsworth didn't permit the upset to happen, however.

"In some ways, it hurts more to lose a close one like this, but I'd still prefer to have a game like this where you're in it to the end," O'Rourke said. "We came so close today. I feel for the kids because they deserve better."

As he has done all year, Heintz led the way for Vandy with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Webber also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds and senior Chris Williams played a strong game in the paint, grabbing 11 boards. Cottrell drained 15 points and Goff scored nine. They each connected three times from beyond the arc. Cottrell had four steals and Goff had two.

O'Rourke was also pleased with the minutes he got off the bench from hard-nosed forward Charlie Cripps and sophomore guard Cory Runge.

Peterson led Ellsworth with 18 points and was 8 for 10 from the charity stripe. Eggebrecht added 15 and was 5 of 6 from the line. As a team, Ellsworth made 14 of 17 free throws in the decisive fourth quarter.

"That's what good teams do," O'Rourke said, "and Ellsworth is definitely a good team."

Vandy also lost a tough JV game to Ellsworth, 54-49. The Yellowjackets trailed by as much as 20 points only to finish strong and make a game of it. Charlie Ormsbee sparked the comeback with his 3-point shooting and O'Rourke also noted the strong defense of Tony Heintz and Ormsbee.